Favorite singers of all time?

The Beatles - Lennon/McCartney/Harrison
Bob Dylan
Greg Lake
John Wetton
Elvis
Sinatra
Bennett
Hendrix
RoxyMusic / Bryan Ferry
Bowie
Muddy
Wolf
Sonny boy II
Janis
Aretha Franklin
Sister Roseta
Sarah Vaughn
Billy Holiday
Jim Morrison
Clapton

 

I love most of the singers mentioned here & of course all the ones I listed in my OP, but the only singers that brought me to tears were Frank Sinatra, Roy Orbison & Billie Holiday.

 

Sam Cooke

 

I'm an opera guy...and I really like baritones. But here's 10, in a rough order of preference - I would probably swap a few out if I thought about it another day, but this is a good sample of what I like!

1. Leonard Warren, baritone
   • A gorgeous, wonderfully colored (very dark), "Golden Era" baritone voice of great power and masculinity with unbelievable top notes. The Sea Shanty "Haul Away Joe" - with a high A natural at the end - illustrates this perfectly.
2. Pavel Lisitsian, baritone
   • The "spin" on the voice is incredible, he sounds like a sophisticated singing machine, a string instrument, with great emotion and elegance. There is always a gentlemanly "restrained passion" in the voice that is very affecting. His Core N'Grato illustrates what I mean.
   • Pavel Lisitsian - Core 'ngrato
3. Cesare Siepi, Bass
   • Dark, heavy, textured, like the sound of a pipe organ, but with great flexibility and color. UNREAL talent. Listen particularly to his Mozart and Verdi, where the "line" of his singing is so obvious - unusual in such a voice.
   • Cesare Siepi " Se vuol ballare signor contino"
4. Jussi Bjorling, tenor
   • Silver toned, focused, metallic, with boundless energy - a little tense, but it adds excitement to his singing - he sounds like the greatest choir boy of all time, all grown up with balls of steel. He kind of looks like that, too. My favorite recording of any genre and any music is HIS recording of the Pearl Fishers duet with Robert Merrill. A great example of his solo singing is La belle Helene.
   • Jussi Björling - Offenbach - La belle Helene „Au Mont Ida Trois Desses"
   • Duet: Jussi Björling sings Pearl Fishers Duet with Robert Merrill
5. Titta Ruffo, baritone
   • A great roaring, explosive, beautiful baritone voice always delivered "to the hilt" - almost the color and texture of a bass, just much higher and more focused. He always sounds like a cavalier villain! Kind of vulgar sometimes (who else interpolates a high note into the serenade of Don Giovanni? Ridiculous!) but really thrilling. Great top notes.
   • Titta Ruffo sings 'Adamastor, re delle acque profonde' from Giacomo Meyerbeer's 'L'africaine'
6. Luciano Pavarotti, tenor
   • No explanation needed. I've never heard a voice better at conveying "happiness" than Pavarotti, it's pure gold. His Gia il Sol Dal Gange always makes me happy.
   • Scarlatti: L'honestà negli amore - Già il sole dal Gange
7. Giuseppe Di Stefano, tenor
   • Young Giuseppe is incredible, a gorgeous voice - one of the most beautiful of all time and all voices - pushed dramatically to the max, heroic and lyric at the same time, but with astonishing control...goes from the sound of the most delicate wind instrument to a TRUMPET! He EMBODIES Italian passion. Unbelievable! His quality went WAY down later in life so I don't usually seek out his full opera recordings...but when he's good, he's the best.
   • Giuseppe di Stefano - "E Lucevan le Stelle" from Tosca (Live + Encore)
8. Robert Merill, baritone
   • Gorgeous voice, wonderfully legato singing, very honest and straightforward. Resonant, powerful, healthy, spinning, open, HUGE when he let loose. Warm. I think he's at his best in American music where he has more personality...but he's probably the greatest duet partner of all time, judging by the results with Richard Tucker and Jussi Bjorling!
   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80y4x1gCPv4
9. Riccardo Stracciari, baritone
   • Pure, masculine, Italianate beauty. Not wimpy, as many beautiful voices of his era can sometimes sound, but not at all bombastic. Pure singing. it's a completely different sound, but to me, he's the Italian counterpart tof Pavel Lisitsian, mentioned above.
   • Part II - Your Favorites: RICCARDO STRACCIARI
10. Richard Tucker, tenor
    • When he's "ON", he's the most exciting tenor I've ever heard. The Handel cut here shows his best qualities - large, bright, heroic voice with a sort of "aggressive cantor" sound. His live Invano Alvaro recording from a Met gala is my second-favorite duet recording of all time, unbelievably exciting...
    • Sound an Alarm: Richard Tucker - Sound an alarm. (Judas Maccabaeus)
    • Invano Alvaro with Merill: Merrill / Tucker - Forza

 

Elvis Presley
Frank Sinatra
George Jones
Hank Williams Sr
Merle Haggard
George Michael
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Barbra Streisand
Robert Plant
Roger Daltrey
Whitney Houston
Olivia Newton John

 

No particular order but approx the first few. Artist and 1 key vocal track


1. Harry Nilsson - Without Her
2. John Lennon. Mother
3. Steve Marriott - Tin Soldier
4. Tom Waits - Anywhere I Lay My Head
5. Mickey Newbury -Heaven Help the Child

6. Sinead OConnor - Troy
7. Grace Slick - Hey Frederick
8. Eddie Vedder - Black
9. Chrissie Hynde - I'll Stand By You
10. Van Morrison - Listen to the Lion

11. Bono - Red Hill Mining Town
12. Thom Yorke - the Tourist
13. Joan Baez - Love is Just a four Letter Word
14. Ryan Adams - Hotel Chelsea Nights
15. Geddy Lee - temples of Syrnix

16. Otis Redding -Sittin on the Dock of the Bay
17. Cass Elliott - Dream a Little Dream of Me
18. David Crosby - Triad, but I'd plug Him and Grace going nuts at the end of "A Child Is Coming" on Blows Against the Empire anyway
19. Donovan - voyage into the golden screen
20. Rickie Lee Jones - We Belong Together

 

Gregg Allman
Ray Charles
Steve Marriott
Bob Dylan
John Lennon
Stevie Nicks
Norah Jones
Gary Brooker
Steven Wilson
Ninet Tayeb
Al Jolson....had to put him on the list.
He is the first singer I fell for when I was a little kid.

 

Lots of my favorites in soul, rock, pop have been listed. I think my complete list would be ridiculously long so I would just like to point out these favorite, unique voices
Tim Buckley
Jacqui Mcshee - Pentangle
Fred Neil

Don't think anyone has or ever will sound anything like these three.
Jacqui perhaps over shadowed and also compared to Sandy Denny (also great ) but Jacqui is exquisite, incomparable, and a treasure.

 

Off:
"Favorite Singers of All Time?"

Is just to tough a question to answer [w/o listing at least 50/when you just consider genres!!!/"Jazz" ~ "Pop" ~ "Soul" ~ "R&B" ~ "Reggae" ~ "Opera" ~ "Blues" ~ "Folk" & on & on... /no way!!].

One of my fave vocal performance of all-time is Cindy Wilson of the "B-52's" expressing her brother's pinned "Hero Worship":

She shouts.
She screams.
She speak/sings.
She yells.
She growls.
She sings.
She hisses.
She cracks.
She laughs.
She purrs.
She moans.

Been wanting to post this somewhere on this fine forum [thanks Steve] for like a year!

Thank you all.

 

Sia
Bjork
Kate Bush
Thom Yorke
Jonas Bjerre
Dave Gahan
Natasha Khan
Hope Sandoval
Kurt Cobain
Brian Molko
Peter Murphy
Robert Smith
Brendan Perry
Nick Cave
Donovan

 

Since I am a hard rock fan...

Ozzy
Brian Johnson/Bon Scott
Robert Plant

 

off the top of my head:

Marvin Gaye
Stevie Wonder
Aretha Franklin
Ella Fitzgerald
Nina Simone
Sam Cooke
Solomon Burke
Jeff Buckley
Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra

lot's of obvious choices and I'm sure there are many glaring omissions, but ho hum!

 

Two USA
Sinatra & Presley
Two U.K.
Lennon & McCartney

 

Dionne Warwick
Steve Marriott
Paul McCartney
Steve Winwood
David Crosby
Grace Slick

 

Enrico Caruso
Mario Lanza
Elvis Presley
Kathryn Grayson
Bob Dylan
Rob Halford
Grace Slick
Taylor Dayne
Patty Smyth
Chaka Kahn
Cher
Patsy Cline
Janis Joplin
Pat Benatar
Freddy Mercury
Colin Hay
Brian, Carl, Dennis Wilson--Mike Love, Bruce Johnston
Odetta
Joan Baez
Frank Sinatra
Roy Orbison
Joe Elliot
Bruce Dickinson
Ray Davies
Jim Morrison
Mick Jagger
Willie Nelson
Johnny Cash
Luther Vandross
Stevie Wonder
Charlie Wilson
Philip Bailey
Lionel Richie
Sly Stone
Muddy Waters
Van Morrison
Dionne Warwick
Tina Turner
Ruppert Holmes
Tony Orlando
Englebert Humperdink
Jimmy Roselli
Lorne Greene
Howard Keel
Dean Martin
Rick Davies
Robert Plant
The Beatles--each band member on fab and solo records had vocals I enjoyed.
Rick James
The Bee Gees--Yes the Brothers Gibb-- Robins vocals were unheard of at the time on late 60's AM radio.
Michael Jackson

Sorry about the more than 15.
Just to many to list.

 

Sinatra
Dino
Jerry Vale
Frankie Laine
Elvis
Dionne Warwick
Captain Beefheart
Linda Ronstadt (in Mariachi mode)
Julie London
Nick Cave
Bryan Ferry
David Bowie
Bing Crosby
Tom Waits
Yma Sumac
Burl Ives
Kim Shattuck
Lisa Marr
John Lennon
Carmen Miranda
John Balance
Rachel Nagy
Baldemar Huerta (Freddy Fender!)
Fred Astaire
Desi Arnaz
Harry Belafonte
Lorne Greene
Peggy Lee
Nina Simone
Genesis P. Orridge (TG-era. Not so much the current Psychedelic Granny stuff...)

 

David Bowie
Kirsten Flagstad
Nina Simone
Elvis Presley
Aaron Neville

 

Forgot to mention Rob Halford... like his voice on some of priest early recordings

 

1, Ozzy, 2, Giddy lee, 3. Johnny Cash, 4. Barry White. 5.Donna Summer, 6. Ian Anderson, 7. Marvin Gaye, 8. Dave Mustaine, 9. David Gilmore, 1o. Aretha Franklin, 11. Ray Charles, the list goes on and on and on....

 

Scott Walker
Nick Cave
Iggy Pop
Johnny Cash
Jacques Brel
Jim Morrison
PJ Harvey
Marianne Faithfull
Siouxsie Sioux
David Sylvian

 

Something like this:

Frank Sinatra
Billie Holiday
Marvin Gaye
Smokey Robinson
Stevie Wonder
John Lennon
Jimi Hendrix
Robert Plant
Peter Green
Aretha Franklin
Johnny Guitar Watson
Chrissie Hynde
Neil Young
Iggy Pop
John Anderson (the country singer not that guy in Yes)

+ many more

 

Mike Patton, Axl Rose, Ricky Lancelotti

 

Only a partial list, in no order:

guys -
Raul Malo
Sam Cooke
Freddie Mercury
Dwight Yoakam
Jose' Carreras
Bryan Ferry
Sturgill Simpson
Johnny Cash
Sivert Hoyem

gals -
Montserrat Caballe'
Emmylou Harris
Alison Krauss
Iris DeMent
Enya
Loreena McKennit
Amy MacDonald
Billie Holiday
Marie Munroe

 

You're real for mentioning Brandy. She's my favorite female vocalist of all time. Amazing lower register!

 

Brandy's voice has gotten even better as she's aged. It's so much fuller now than it ever was during her Atlantic tenure.

Ed